Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 42, Shloka 26
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः
Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments
अथ गद्गदशब्दस्तु विलपन्मनुजाधिपः।उवाच मृदुमन्दार्थं वचनं दीनमस्वरम्।।।।
atha gadgadaśabdas tu vilapan manujādhipaḥ |
uvāca mṛdu mandārthaṃ vacanaṃ dīnam asvaram ||
Then the lord of men, lamenting with a voice choked in his throat, spoke words that were gentle yet faint—low in sense and sound, sorrowful and feeble.
Thereupon Dasaratha lamenting with his throat choked addressed (his attendants) in a low, feeble, melancholic, gentle voice:
FAQs
It underscores human accountability within dharma: even a king is not above emotional consequence when truth and duty have been wounded by prior actions.
Daśaratha, overwhelmed after Rāma’s exile, is physically and emotionally broken and begins to give instructions to attendants.
The realism of remorse and vulnerability is emphasized—power does not protect one from the moral weight of decisions.